| Richard Deitsch's Prediction
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| MORTAL LOCKS |
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As usual, Notre Dame is blessed by divine intervention. Neither Iowa nor
Iowa State will give Ruth Riley & Co. the slightest bit of trouble in the
Midwest Region (The NCAA may as well have added Drake University and Coe
College so the Irish could beat every team in the Hawkeye State). Led by
the indomitable Katie Douglas, Purdue could provide some testy moments for
Tennessee in the Mideast, though you can feel safe penciling in the Lady
Vols for another Final Four appearance. In the West, top-seeded Duke should
prevail in a field about as exciting as the XFL. Finally, the East offers
more tension than an episode of Temptation Island. Look for defending
champs UConn to reach the regional finals before falling to Deanna Nolan
(the country's most underrated player) and Georgia.
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| UPSET SPECIALS |
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Here's a rule of thumb for you to get the early lead in your office pool:
Always pick against the Pac-10 come tourney time, a conference as soft as
Mother Teresa's heart. In the West, No. 11 Old Dominion played a fierce
schedule and will dispose of sixth-seeded Washington, which fell to UCLA by
25 on March 10. We also love Georgia over UConn in the East Regional finals
(Yes, I'm going out on quite a limb picking a No. 2 over a No. 1). Forget
about the 99-70 whitewashing UConn handed Georgia at the beginning of the
season. Without Shea Ralph and Svetlana Abrosimova, its buona sera for Geno
Auriemma.
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| MY WINNER IS |
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Tennessee . I could play it safe like my colleague Kelli Anderson and take Notre Dame
to cut down the nets in St. Louis. Instead, I say the Lady Bulldogs upset
the Irish in the semis to force an all-SEC final on April 1. Who wins?
Rocky Top, as always. Look for Pat Summitt to add another championship to
her already bloated mantle.
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